Personal opinions on the events of the day, brought to you Live From Bikini Bottom.

Tuesday, August 8

Impeachment Anyone?

Each time his name is in the headlines, especially if the word 'tweets' is in the headline as well, #notmypresident Trump gets farther and farther from the known world of reality, and edges closer and closer to taking up permanent residence in the unknown world where people no more qualified to run the country than Garfield the cat are being elected and allowed to turn their nose up at all the conventions and honored traditions this country has been governed by for literally hundreds of years. Suddenly America isn't the shining example of democracy it's always been, the guiding light for all other countries, the gold standard by which others judged themselves; now it's just a joke. Now everyone all over the world gets up in the morning and can't wait to see what Twitter's got for them today, what inane drivel the so-called Commander-in-Chief of the United States is spewing all over social media. Even if he hasn't posted anything himself, the gifs and memes that are being spread around the Internet are more than enough to send the leaders of foreign powers into paroxysms of laughter. It's sad to be such a laughingstock when we were once the leader of the free world....

Trump retweets Fox News story containing classified info

WASHINGTON (CNN) – President Donald Trump’s retweet of a Fox News story claiming US satellites detected North Korea moving anti-ship cruise missiles to a patrol boat is raising eyebrows on Tuesday after US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley indicated that the information in the report is classified and was leaked.

“I can’t talk about anything that’s classified and if that’s in the newspaper that’s a shame,” Haley said Tuesday on “Fox and Friends” when asked about the story that cites two anonymous sources.

Pushed on whether the information was leaked, Haley said “it’s one of those things I don’t know what’s going on. I will tell you it’s incredibly dangerous when things get out into the press like that.”

But just a few hours before Haley’s appearance on Fox, Trump retweeted a post from the Fox News morning show promoting the story said to contain classified information.

CNN has not independently verified the Fox News report and the White House has not responded to a request for comment.

“It is alarming the casualness with which President Trump shares classifieds information,” Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California told CNN’s Poppy Harlow Tuesday. “Just because something is in the press doesn’t make that information no longer classified, so the President should not be tweeting classified information just because he as the President.”

Will Fischer, an Iraq War veteran and director of government relations for VoteVets, was also critical of the retweet and questioned what role — or lack thereof — new chief of staff John Kelly had in the process.

“It is absolutely terrifying to see that information that Ambassador Haley said was ‘dangerous’ to print was retweeted by Donald Trump,” Fischer said in a statement. “The question for everyone to ask is: What did General Kelly say? If he told Donald Trump to retweet this, there’s a real problem. If he told Trump not to, and Trump ignored him, that’s a big problem. If Donald Trump is refusing to consult with his chief of staff on any of this, that’s a huge problem, especially given General Kelly’s military background.”

Trump’s motive for retweeting the Fox News story remains unclear but the decision to promote a report that — according to the US ambassador to the United Nations — contains classified information leaked to the press by anonymous sources comes just days after the President praised Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ plan to combat that very practice in the name of national security.

“After many years of LEAKS going on in Washington, it is great to see the A.G. taking action!” Trump tweeted. “For National Security, the tougher the better!” Trump tweeted over the weekend.

Tuesday’s retweet also coincided with the release of a series of new polls that not only call Trump’s Twitter habits into question but also reveal major concerns around the President’s trustworthiness and ability to effectively manage the standoff with North Korea.

According to a new CBS News poll only a third of those surveyed having confidence in Trump’s ability to handle the situation with North Korea.

A new CNN poll shows that a majority (52%) of Americans say Trump’s tweets are not an effective way for him to share his views on important issues, and 72% say they do not send the right message to other world leaders.

Further, 62% overall say that Trump’s statements and actions since taking office have made them less confident in his ability to be president.

In May, Trump was criticized after The Washington Post reported that he shared highly classified information with the Russian foreign minister and Russian ambassador to the US in a White House meeting.

Despite statements from top administration officials that called the report “false,” two former officials knowledgeable of the situation confirmed to CNN at the time that the main points of the Post story were accurate.

It's So Hot!

It's so hot up there that it's got the surface of the water almost boiling! Not down here though, down here in Bikini Bottom it's wonderfully cool! Come join us here in the depths, and we'll discuss the world as we see it, Live From Bikini Bottom.